The NL Central is looking good this season. Let's break it down
Chicago Cubs
They lost Daniel Murphy and Justin Wilson, but signed Brad Brach to replace Wilson. The Cubs still have their young corps of Schwarber, Baez, Bryant, and Russell, along with the older guys like Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo. The hitters should continue smashing dingers without prejudice. Yu Darvish has had a good spring, and Cole Hamels is returning. Jon Lester should continue to be a good mid-rotation pitcher, and Kyle Hendricks will do good as he flies under the radar again. The Cubs are looking good yet again. Perhaps a world series run awaits.
Milwaukee Brewers
They traded Keon Broxton and lost Wade Miley, Gio Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop, but they signed Yasmani Grandal, Brett Lawrie, and re-signed Mike Moustakas. Moustakas has reportedly been playing second base this spring, which should be interesting along with Travis Shaw at 3rd. Jesus Aguilar is back to belt homers, and Yelich and Cain are still the top players on this rather young team. The bullpen remains one of baseball's best with Corey Knebel, Josh Hader, and Jeremy Jeffress, but there are some questions regarding the starting rotation. Regardless, this team can still make a deep playoff run, but hopefully with a better result than last year.
St.Louis Cardinals
They signed Andrew Miller, Paul Goldschmidt, and extended Miles Mikolas. Marcell Ozuna, Matt Carpenter Dexter Fowler, and Yadier Molina return as well. Starting pitching will have Mikolas, Adam Wainwright, and Michael Wacha up front, with Jordan Hicks throwing 100 miles an hour in the bullpen. This team should make a run at the playoffs and potentially sneak past some good teams. Keep an eye on these guys
Pittsburgh Pirates
There's nothing here that says the Pirates want to win. This year, like last, figures to be a lot of mediocrity, but Keone Kela and Chris Archer do return. It's probably going to be last in the central for this bunch. They also gave up top prospects to get Archer, who didn't do as well as expected.
Cincinnati Reds
They traded for Sonny Gray, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, and Kyle Farmer. These moves improve the Reds, but I don't think they'll make the playoffs. Scooter Gennet, Scott Schebler, and Joey Votto return, but it will probably be 4th in the central as the other 3 jockey for the division lead.
Division Assessment
No team is really out of it, but Pittsburgh is pretty close to it. Expect fierce competition for the division lead, especially with how the Cardinals added more power this offseason. This division will be a bloodbath in September, and will make for some very interesting Baseball.
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